Educational Opportunities

Staff members who wish to undertake graduate study must be appropriately admitted by the Graduate School and obtain permission from their department heads. Academic load guidelines are determined by the conditions of the appointment.

To be eligible to hold a graduate staff appointment during any session, an individual must be enrolled as a graduate student in a degree or teacher license program and be registered for at least three credit hours of graduate-level course and/or research working during the entire appointment period. (Graduate staff on appointment during the summer are obligated to register for a minimum of three graduate hours during at least one of the summer modules.)

The fee for graduate staff appointments of all classifications is determined by their entry date into the graduate program. The fee for a newly admitted graduate student assistant (enrolling summer 2006 or thereafter) is $743.00 per semester. This fee total includes the assessment of fees to be allocated toward campus repair and rehabilitation. The fee for students who began enrollment prior to the summer 2006 semester is $612.00. Please note that non-resident staff members employed as a residence hall assistants will also be responsible for payment of non-resident fees. Certain courses or programs will assess special course fees or differential fees.

Staff members employed half time or more, with rank of instructor or above, administrative, professional, and regular clerical/service staff who are taking classes on a continuing basis are limited to seven hours a semester and to four hours during the summer session. Staff members who were first enrolled prior to the summer 2006 semester will be billed $81.25 per credit hour. Any staff member described above taking classes for the first time (beginning enrollment summer 2006 or thereafter) will pay $90.50 per credit hour a semester under the same limitations as described above.

Exceptions to the credit hour limit must be approved in advance by the employing department head and the Vice President for Business Services and Assistant Treasurer at the West Lafayette campus, or the chief financial officers at the regional campuses. These same staff members may attend University courses as visitors without payment of fees under certain conditions. For details, see the Business Procedure Manual and Executive Memorandum C-7.

Persons who hold professorial or instructor rank on a Purdue campus may take graduate courses but may work for advanced degrees at Purdue only under certain conditions and with prior approval of the dean of the Graduate School.

Enrollment of a regular employee in University courses must be with a certification signature by his or her department head on a Registrar’s Course Request (Form 23).

When enrolling for a course with intention of receiving academic credit for it, the employee will pay the regular general service staff fee, a technology fee, a repair and rehabilitation fee if applicable, plus any special course fees or differential fees as approved by the University Board of Trustees. No fee will be charged when the employee registers for a course at the request of his or her supervisor for job training and does not receive academic credit for the course. No fee is charged when an employee registers for a course on a noncredit basis (“audit” or “listen”) at his or her own request, within the guidelines of Executive Memorandum C-7.

Dependents of staff who reside in Indiana, and are employed half time or more for a period of time that is expected to continue for more than one year on a recurring academic or fiscal year basis may be eligible for a partial fee remission. Eligible dependents must provide documentation that they are under 26 years of age and are admitted to a curriculum leading to the first baccalaureate, professional, or associate degree. This partial fee remission is applicable only during the period normally required to complete the undergraduate curriculum. Spouses/Domestic Partners of staff and spouses of official retirees may enroll in courses and receive a partial fee remission. Please note that Dependent or Spouse/Domestic Partner fee remissions do not apply to repair and rehabilitation fees, differential fees, intensive courses, workshops, short courses, summer camps, noncredit evening classes, special fees, or summer shop courses. (See Executive Memorandum C-7 for more details.)